Electronic thermometers are widely used in the healthcare field for measuring a patient's body temperature. Typical electronic thermometers include a probe comprising an elongate shaft. Electronic temperature sensors such as thermistors or other temperature sensitive elements are contained within the shaft portion. In one version, the probe includes a cup-shaped aluminum tip at its distal end. A thermistor is placed in thermal contact with the aluminum tip inside the probe. When a free end portion is placed, for example, in a patient's mouth, the tip is heated up by the patient's body and the thermistor measures the temperature of the tip. Additional electronics connected to the electronic sensor components may be contained within a base unit connected by wire to the shaft portion or may be contained within a handle of the shaft portion, for example. Electronic components receive input from the sensor components to compute the patient's temperature. The temperature is then typically displayed on a visual output device such as a seven segment numerical display device.
Current probe designs comprise hollow plastic cylindrical shafts that have been extruded and then secondary machined. As discussed above, the probe shaft may house circuitry for detecting temperature. Because of the unitary nature of the probe shaft, the circuitry must be pulled through the shaft which can damage the circuit. Also, any additional components must be machined into or bonded to the shaft. Therefore, there exists a need for an improved electronic thermometer probe shaft design that more easily accommodates thermometer components and accessories.